Blake Lively's 'bombshell' legal action

Hollywood is reeling after Blake Lively filed a sexual harassment complaint against her "It Ends With Us" co-star and director Justin Baldoni.

The glossy screen adaptation of Colleen Hoover's novel divided critics with its portrayal of domestic abuse, but the drama behind the scenes has proven even more controversial.

'Under attack'

The film's release in August was mired by rumours of a feud between its two stars. The press tour was described as a "car crash", said the Irish Independent, with reports of "creative differences between Baldoni and Lively on set" and the actors avoiding each other at the premiere.

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Baldoni did separate interview rounds from the rest of the cast, some of whom unfollowed him on social media – "a new custom for any celebrities wishing to let their fans know they're unhappy with someone without saying it", said The Telegraph. Then Lively "found herself under attack".

Now, she has accused Baldoni of leading a coordinated effort to destroy her professional reputation. In a "bombshell legal filing" made to the California Civil Rights Department, Lively claimed he hired a crisis PR team to "turn the tide of public opinion against her", said Vanity Fair. The "alleged smear campaign" came after she complained of "repeated sexual harassment and other disturbing behaviour" on the set of the movie.

'Horrifying and destructive'

The court filing is an "astonishing read", said Laura Snapes in The Guardian. Lively alleges a "violation of physical boundaries, sexual and inappropriate comments" and the "absence of intimacy coordination" on set.

It also contains pages of subpoenaed messages sent between Baldoni and his PR team. They suggest that crisis management expert Melissa Nathan, who counts Johnny Depp among her previous clients, "went hard at the press, pushing to prevent stories about Mr Baldoni's behaviour and reinforce negative ones about Ms Lively", said The New York Times.

"He wants to feel like she can be buried," one publicist working with the studio and Baldoni messaged Nathan on 2 August. "You know we can bury anyone," she replied.

A lawyer representing Baldoni and his production company Wayfarer Studios said the allegations were "completely false, outrageous and intentionally salacious". The studio and its PR team "did nothing proactive nor retaliated" against Lively, he said.

The filing is "a clear prelude to further action coming in the courts unless the parties settle ASAP", reported Deadline. Even after an "extensive response" from Baldoni's lawyer, a reply filing from the actor's company "is almost certain after the holidays".